We’re in the middle of fundraising season and it seems like a great time to share some of the biggest donations come from sources you would not have predicted. The saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” rings true in the donor world as well.
Over the years I’ve seen people not bother to ask for donations based on appearance alone. Now I get when you have limited staff and time you are trying to maximize with best guesses, but sometimes that can lead to a missed opportunity. An organization I know received a $800,000 donation from someone they hadn’t planned on asking, but a board member did. It’s both a happy surprise and a very close to completely missed opportunity.
In a world where so many people are sharing what are basically highlights on social media it’s easy to forget that a lot of people are operating without posting about it or sharing it wide in any way. Relationships continue to be the number one driver to donations and by not building them you really have no idea of what someone is capable and/or willing to give. So keep an open mind when it comes to who the next friend of your organization might be.
